The similaries and differences between MAC Ruby and Russian Red extend beyond first appearances. Read the rest of Katherine’s blog post for her detailed comparison of Ruby Woo vs. Russian Red, including which of the two has an easier texture to apply!

Vesna describes Flat Out Fabulous as a lovely bold matte darker fuchsia in a retro matte finish. Her experience was that it wears more comfortably than Heaux despite both belonging in the same lipstick finish range.

Read the rest of Vesna’s blog post (also available in English) to find out how well this lipstick lasted throughout the day, and also which other MAC lipstick shades come in the Retro Matte finishes.

Launched as part of Estee Lauder’s “Pretty Naughty” collection, the Pure Color Sheer Matte Lipstick are a refined lightweight matte formula that leaves a satin finish with light reflecting pearls.

They hug the lips snugly upon application, and in just a sweep you get an ultra matte pigmented finish that instantly transforms your lip texture into a matte fabric-like texture.

Infused with fruit extracts that add moisture, and highly pigmented.

Available in 4 shades – Demure, Rebel, Rock Candy & Naked.

Verdict: I must admit, when I first heard about the launch of the “sheer matte” formula I was intrigued to try it as Estee Lauder’s makeup are renowned for their sophisticated textures. Despite looking pretty in the delicate slim packaging & swatching beautifully on my arm, this didn’t work at all for my lip condition – which has a lot of lip creases and looks unforgiving in dry formulas. Except for Demure (a deep pink), all other shades were also too pale against my flushed lip tone. The only lip condition that I can imagine this working for is smooth lip surfaces (ie. younger lips) with a pale lip tone.

I didn’t see any point in featuring unflattering lip swatches proving that it didn’t work, so I shall leave you with pretty picture instead of how much better it looks in the packaging and on my arms.

If you can read Croatian (or put it through Google Translate like I did), I recommend checking out Vesna’s blog post on which MAC lipstick is a dupe for RiRi Boy. As for a dupe for Heaux, check out Temptalia’s dupe report here.

Thanks Vesna for the lovely swatch! You’re the only beauty blogger I know that can pull off matte lipstick without needing any lip balm whatsoever!!